Saskatchewan plans to phase in a higher load limit for B-train truck tractor and semi-trailer combinations starting Tuesday (June 1), eventually allowing grain truckers to add an extra tonne per load on the province’s highways.
The move, which is expected to eventually harmonize load limits with those for commercial carriers running B-trains in Alberta and British Columbia, begins with a regulatory amendment that would grant an increase in the weight limit from the current 62,500 kg to 63,500 kg, but at first only on Saskatchewan’s “most heavily travelled” highways.
“The largest impact on commercial carriers is the ability to operate B-train combinations through the Saskatchewan-Alberta-B.C. corridor without having to reduce shipping weight,” Saskatchewan Trucking Association director Steve Balzer of Biggar said in the government’s release.
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The payload increase will bump up truckers’ productivity by an estimated 2.5 per cent, the province said.
Carriers hauling dry bulk commodities often have difficulty in properly distributing their loads and thus can’t maximize their loading. By increasing the allowable weight by one tonne (to 24 from 23) on the centre-tridem axle group, carriers will have the flexibility to increase their payloads, the province said.
In Phase 1, starting Tuesday, the weight limit will increase for trucks traveling specified provincial highways as well as all cities and other urban centres along those routes.
During Phase 1, carriers needing to access sites off the select highway system would need a permit from the municipality in which they’ll be operating. Permits for provincial highways “are not available” in this first phase, the province said.
Starting June 1, a carrier will be able to attend his or her license issuer’s office or one of SGI’s branch offices and increase a truck’s registered gross vehicle weight (GVW) to 63,500 kg. The increased weight will come with an increased cost for plates, pro-rated from when the carrier applies for the change.
Phase 2 would be set up at a later date, the province said, but didn’t give a specific time frame. The weight increase would then be expanded to the remaining primary weight highways capable of supporting the increased weight, and would grant urban and rural municipalities the ability to raise primary weights within their jurisdictions, by bylaw.
The first two phases will be limited to B-trains, the province said. “Once there has been an opportunity to assess the impact of the weight increase, the ministry will explore the potential of increasing the weight to all mid-spread tridem axle groups.”
The change follows Saskatchewan joining the “New West Partnership” in April with Alberta and B.C. That agreement’s goal is to set up a “barrier-free trade zone and investment climate in the three westernmost provinces,” Infrastructure Minister Jim Reiter said Monday.
The maximum GVW on Manitoba highways remains at 62,500 kg, the Saskatchewan government noted.
